Nearly 80 Girl Scouts gathered at Girl Scout Camp Skimino in Williamsburg on August 15 for the second annual “Duck” Tape Regatta, hosted by The Wild Things, a Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast outdoor adventure group. Eighteen teams of Girl Scouts spent the morning designing and building boats— using just cardboard and duct tape— that could hold at least one team member long enough for a race across the camp pool. The teams were also given two pieces of PVC pipe to use to make paddles.
Each team took a unique and creative approach to their design. There were high-sided boxy boats, long and narrow raft-like crafts and everything in between. One of the winning teams taped together small boxes to create a stabilizing platform as the base for their boat. After a few hours for construction, teams raced in heats based on age-level with the goal of staying afloat to make it from one end of the pool to the other, all vying for a coveted rubber duck trophy. At the end of the races, awards were given out for best times and best design.
“We thought this would be a great way for girls to have fun while participating in a hands-on engineering activity,” Bonnie Taylor, a Girl Scout volunteer who helped plan the event, said. “It was fun to watch all of their ideas come to life and put to the test.”
Girl Scouts has a long history of getting girls outdoors to participate in fun and enriching activities that allow them to take risks, try new things and build confidence. Girls who are interested in engineering and design can attend Design Divas, a workshop hosted by experts from Booz Allen Hamilton, on October 17. The next activity for this outdoor adventure group will be a backpacking trip in Shenandoah National Park next month. For more information about these activities and joining Girl Scouts, visit
www.gsccc.org.
girl scouts of the colonial coast
